Departmental Absenteeism

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many staff of his Department were recorded absent for non-medical reasons on  (a) 2 February 2009 and  (b) 3 February 2009; what estimate he has made of the (i) cost to his Department and (ii) number of working hours lost due to such absence; and what guidance his Department issued to staff in respect of absence on these days.

Patrick McFadden: It is not possible to provide exact numbers as annual leave and arrangements for absence are agreed locally between line managers and their staff. Asking each individual line manager in the Department for details would incur disproportionate cost.
	An estimate of the costs and working hours lost has not been completed and it would incur disproportionate cost to do so. However, the Department has assessed the proportion of staff able to work on the 2 and 3 February 2009. All departmental buildings were open on those dates. It is estimated that approximately 25 per cent. of staff attended the office. In addition, approximately 65 per cent. of staff have remote access to the Department's IT system and all London-based staff have remote telephony access and can access the office telephone system from home or elsewhere. It is estimated that approximately 10 per cent. of staff cannot work from home and were unable to work in any way on the days in question.
	Staff were issued with advice on travel information and reminded of departmental guidance on adverse weather and travel disruption. Where possible, staff made alternative arrangements with their line managers including
	Working flexibly or from home
	Different work patterns to ease disruption of public transport e.g. start work later
	Using annual leave
	Where line managers considered it was unreasonable to require staff to attend the office and it was impossible to work from home, managers had discretion to authorise staff to stay at home without loss of pay.

Departmental Marketing

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 4 February 2008,  Official Report, column 894W, on departmental marketing, how much the Insolvency Service has spent on promotional products since February 2008.

Patrick McFadden: The Insolvency Service spent approximately £11,480 on promotional products since February 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 11 December 2008 on support for small businesses.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 20 April 2009
	I responded to the right hon. Member on 8 April.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the Minister for Small Businesses plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 15 January 2009 on the Government's small business loan scheme.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 20 April 2009
	I responded to the right hon. Member on 6 April.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 25 February 2009 with regard to a constituent; and what the reason is for the time taken to reply.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 20 April 2009
	I responded to my hon. Friend on 7 April. I apologise for the delay.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Sixth Form Colleges

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 636W, on the Building Schools for the Future programme: sixth form colleges, 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy and condition of the sixth form college estate;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated to sixth form colleges under the Building Schools for the Future programme for the period after 2010;
	(3)  whether a sixth form college located in a local authority area which has already received Building Schools for the Future funding will be able to receive such funding from 2010 onwards.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Pursuant to my answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 636W, I restate that we have made our intention clear to bring sixth form colleges within the scope of the Building Schools for the Future programme. This remains our position. We are considering detailed implications and will make these clear as soon as we are able.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in each local authority are participating in the Gaining Ground initiative; which local authorities have entered schools for the initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not hold a list of the schools that are participating in the Gaining Ground Initiative. To date LAs have held negotiations with schools on the basis that the details of schools that express an interest in the strategy will be held by National Strategies. It has been left to LAs to determine which schools could benefit from the support on offer taking into account the criteria and their local knowledge of the schools. It is therefore for the LAs to decide whether or not to publish a list as part of their local accountability mechanism.

Planning Applications: Supermarkets

Celia Barlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to provide members of the public with more powers in respect of planning applications made by supermarkets.

Iain Wright: There are statutory periods for public participation in the decision making process for planning applications. All applications must be publicised and there is a 21 day statutory period for comments. Local planning authorities are required to take in to account timely relevant representations on applications and make public the reasons for decisions.
	Requirements for public participation in decision making on planning applications are the same for all types of applications. It would be inappropriate for planning applications from supermarkets to be dealt with differently.
	Existing national planning policy, as set out in Planning Policy Statement 6, also encourages developers, local authorities and local communities to work together to identify appropriate sites for retail development to ensure the viability and vitality of their town centres. This approach will be maintained in our forthcoming new policy statement on planning for economic prosperity, which will be published for consultation shortly.

Homelessness: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless  (a) children and  (b) adults are in temporary accommodation in (i) Birmingham Hall Green constituency and (ii) Birmingham City Council area.

Iain Wright: Information about English local authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level, about households rather than individuals. Information is not collected at constituency level. Therefore, data is provided at the Birmingham city council area, but not for the Hall Green constituency. Data collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
	Information on the numbers of households housed in temporary accommodation is reported quarterly by local authorities as at the last day of each quarter. The figures include: those households which have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which inquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority, and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.
	The number of dependent children (or expected children) in these households is also collected, but data on the number of adults is not. There were 452 households in temporary accommodation on the 31 December 2008, reported by Birmingham city council, of which 362 were households with dependent (and expected) children and in total 1,068 children (and expected children) within these households.

Housing: Crime Prevention

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 973-74W, on housing: crime prevention, for what reasons there are no plans to include measures to make buildings more resistant to crime in the next revision of the Building Regulations.

Iain Wright: In 2007, security measures were included in the Code for Sustainable Homes. We are currently monitoring the effectiveness of the code in driving up security standards in homes and are continuing discussions with other Government Departments and other stakeholders to ensure we identify the most effective way to make new buildings more resistant to crime. Any proposals to change building regulations would need to be considered by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee in due course and would be subject to public consultation once proposals have become sufficiently developed.

Social Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 79W, on the Tenant Services Authority, 
	(1)  how many people attended each regional National Conversation event for tenants;
	(2)  how many invitations were sent for each National Conversation event for landlords; and how many people attended each event.

Iain Wright: The primary objective of the TSA is championing the needs and aspirations of tenants, developing a genuinely tenant focused regulatory regime. From January to March 2009, the TSA used a number of techniques to find out what tenants thought about their landlords and their services.
	This was called the National Conversation and consisted of regional events organised by the TSA; 'local conversations' organised by tenants/landlords; a campervan that captured tenants' views by video clip; questionnaires; and online forums.
	Invitations were not disseminated by region. Peter Marsh, TSA chief executive, wrote to all landlords (with stock holdings of more than 250 units) inviting them to participate in the regional National Conversation events. The total number of letters sent was 1,144.
	With regards to the number of attendees, I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing (Margaret Beckett) to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, South (Margaret Moran) on 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 79W.

Social Rented Housing: Foreigners

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects her Department to have completed its collection of data on social lets to foreign nationals; and when she plans to publish the data.

Iain Wright: Data on social lets is collected through the Continuous Recording of Lettings (CORE) on behalf of the Tenant Services Authority and Communities and Local Government. Tables giving estimates for 2007-08, adjusted for missing local authority data, will be published shortly. These will include information on social lets to foreign nationals.

Pakistan: Al Qaeda

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he was first informed of the suspected death of Mr. Rashid Rauf following a US air strike on the village of Ali Khel on 22 November 2008.

John Hutton: The Ministry of Defence first learned of his suspected death from media reporting coming out of Pakistan.

Departmental Computers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many laptop computers have been provided to  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in (i) his Department and (ii) the Prime Minister's Office in each year since 2005; and at what cost.

Tom Watson: The number of laptops being used to support the work of the Cabinet Office in each year since 2005 are shown:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005 543 
			 2006 739 
			 2007 945 
			 2008 935 
		
	
	Records covering the total cost to the public purse are not held centrally and so the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Our records do not differentiate between laptop computers provided to Ministers, special advisers and civil servants.
	The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 2 February 2009,  Official Report, column 974W, on waste management: South East, what advice the Waste Improvement Network has given to local authorities on the frequency of collection of household waste.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 27 March 2009,  Official Report, column 789W.

Farmers: Markets

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what schemes he supports to promote farmers' markets and local produce in Lancaster and Wyre constituency.

Jane Kennedy: The Government support local markets of all types including farmers markets.
	Funding is available for opening new marketing opportunities for agricultural and forestry products, putting the emphasis on quality under Axis 1 of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). Under Axis 3 of the RDPE, funding is available for the promotion of tourism activities linked to quality regional and local food culture.
	Since 2002, the North West Development Agency (NWDA) has supported Made in Lancashire, an organisation specifically designed to promote Lancashire's local and speciality food producers. They work with producers, retailers and food service outlets to bring Lancashire's local food to market, including promoting the counties farmer's markets, such as those held at Poulton-Le-Fylde and Thornton. Made in Lancashire also worked closely with Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board in helped create the "Taste of Lancashire" accreditation scheme.
	The NWDA seeks to use funding provided by the European Regional Development Fund to continue the support of this high growth area.
	The NWDA also supports Food Northwest; a strategic body representing the Northwest Food and Drink Industry. Food Northwest aims to boost growth of the industry, and help the sector maximise its economic potential through training workshops, 'meet the buyer' events and other activities.

Foot and Mouth Disease

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the incidence of foot and mouth disease.

Jane Kennedy: Since the 2007 foot and mouth outbreak Government have accepted recommendations from both the Callaghan and Anderson reviews.
	Sir lain Anderson was invited by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State to conduct an independent review of the 2007 FMD outbreak on the most effective and efficient way to learn the lessons of FMD outbreaks quickly and respond accordingly. The Government have accepted all 26 recommendations. The full response is available on the DEFRA website.
	Sir Bill Callaghan was requested by the Government to chair a review of the regulatory framework for animal pathogens, his review was published in December 2007. DEFRA was responsible for implementing phases 1 and 2 of the Callaghan review and responsibility for inspections of labs transferred to the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2008.
	More details of reviews and measures, and the Government's response and actions, are available on DEFRA's website.
	DEFRA also continue to control imports. No livestock imports are permitted from countries with foot and mouth and meat is only permitted from countries where FMD is present under strict guidelines issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health and only from areas of that country that are free of disease. The rules also ensure meat does not come from any animal that may have had contact with FMD before, during or after slaughter.
	More generally we continue to encourage, through livestock market road shows, good on-farm biosecurity to help prevent the spread of disease, including foot and mouth.

Livestock: Waste Disposal

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to introduce on-farm storage of fallen stock.

Jane Kennedy: The EU animal by-products regulation requires fallen stock to be disposed of without undue delay. Pending collection for disposal carcases should be held in such a way that domestic animals (including farmed livestock) and wild animals cannot gain access to them. In practice, it would be reasonable to expect them to be held securely, such as in an enclosed building, or an area away from livestock under a suitable cover, such as a tarpaulin. For the future, the Government support research into bioreducer systems which, if accepted as an alternative method of containment for fallen stock under the above regulation, may make it possible to contain and treat fallen stock on farm safely for a longer period pending its eventual collection for disposal by rendering or incineration.

Members: Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter of 22 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Northavon, sent on behalf of Miss D. Moore of Hinton, on buy one get one free schemes.

Jane Kennedy: I responded to the hon. Member's letter on 20 April and apologise for the delay in doing so.

Departmental Records

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 23 June 2008,  Official Report, column 150W, on the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000, what the  (a) prefix and  (b) title is of each file held by his Department on (i) the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 and (ii) Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Bill of Session 1999-2000; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 is an Act which deals with tackling fuel poverty. Before the formation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, responsibility for fuel poverty policies, and therefore matters connected to the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Bill/Act was shared between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and their predecessor Departments. Files relating to the subject matter of this question are located in the filing systems of the predecessor Departments as well as the current Department.
	To establish the total number of files relating to the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act/Bill would require a trawl of a significant number of files which could only be carried out at disproportionate cost. For this reason it is not considered reasonable to provide a list of all the files on the subject matter of this question.

Members: Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Northavon of 19 December 2008 on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson of Old Sodbury.

Joan Ruddock: I replied to the hon. Member for Northavon on 13 April. I apologise for the delay, which was due to departmental reorganisation.

Warm Front Scheme

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much each contractor appointed under the Warm Front scheme has received under the scheme in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The spreadsheet containing this information contains over 450 lines of data, and I have therefore placed it in the Libraries of the House.

Warm Front Scheme: Complaints

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Braintree of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 410W, on the Warm Front Scheme: Essex, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to record complaints about the Warm Front scheme.

Joan Ruddock: The Department, and its predecessor DEFRA, have kept a record of all letters and emails it has received about Warm Front since January 2007 using an online correspondence tracking IT system. The total number of cases received by the Department is approximately 1,750. However not all of these cases will necessarily be complaints. DECC has recently put in place mechanisms for recording and monitoring all complaints received.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of his Department were compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently replacing its IT infrastructure, the Future Firecrest programme is delivering a newly designed and procured corporate IT platform. Up until recently the IT products available have not fully met the Buy Sustainable Quick Win standard, for example the complete elimination of PVC's. Current and future product choices should ensure compliance with this important Government standard.
	For completeness, it is important to note that in order to maintain costs at a reasonable level, certain small items of unclassified IT equipment can be procured by posts locally. This expenditure is comparatively low there is no centrally managed asset database to confirm compliancy. Compiling this information could only be carried out at disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Human Rights

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on  (a) human rights abuses in countries from which people undertake enforced migration to the UK and  (b) levels of inequality in such countries; and what discussions he has had on measures to reduce levels of enforced migration.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) 2008 Human Rights Report which gives details on the FCO's engagement with states on human rights issues including with reference to migration.
	The UK works with other states, bi-laterally and through the EU, to reduce illegal migration, tackle the root causes of forced migration and manage legal migration into the UK.
	The FCO 2008 Human Rights report is available for viewing online at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/fco-in-action/conflict/

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter dated 14 January 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to J. Lovely.

David Miliband: I replied to my right hon. Friend's letter on 10 April 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 23 February 2009, with regard to Mr and Mrs Z Ullah.

David Miliband: I replied to my right hon. Friend's letter on 26 March 2009.

Middle East: Conflict Prevention

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 17-19WS, on conflict resources 2009-10, what proportion of the revised budget for the Middle East programme will be spent in  (a) Iraq,  (b) Israel-Palestine and  (c) Lebanon; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Of the £18 million discretionary funding assigned to the Middle East and North Africa Programme for 2009-10; £13.1 million has been allocated to Iraq, £3.15 million to Israel-Palestine, and £1.35 million to Lebanon. The remaining £400,000 has been assigned to Yemen.
	This programme will continue our assistance to build Iraqi and Palestinian police and judiciary capabilities and our work with the Lebanese armed forces and internal security forces. It will also allow the UK to foster economic growth, investment and job opportunities in the Basra region, monitor and assist in improving the economic and humanitarian situation in Israeli-Palestine and reinforce Lebanese sovereignty and good governance.

Nuclear Weapons: EU Action

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government's policy on non-proliferation of the European Commission Communication on nuclear non-proliferation of 26 March 2009.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the Explanatory Memorandum which was laid in the House today.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to prevent patients being discharged from an abortion clinic without their prescribed medication; what discussions he has had with abortion clinics on this issue since January 2009; what recent representations he has received on the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: All abortion providers should follow the best practice outlined in The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, which is the guidance published in 2004 by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. This provides guidance for professionals on all aspects of aftercare for women who have undergone abortions, including the prescription of medicine.
	In addition, abortion clinics operating in the independent sector must comply with the requirements of the Care Standards Act 2000 and the Private and Voluntary Healthcare Regulations 2001. This legislation, together with the associated National Minimum Standards, ensure that high quality care is provided to women who seek abortions. In particular, the National Minimum Standards state patients must receive information about their medication and how to use it and that patients must be made aware of the possible complications arising from abortion, how to care for themselves after the procedure and how to contact the clinic for any necessary follow-up care and advice.
	The Department holds regular discussions with abortion providers and these discussions cover a range of issues. The Department has received no representations on medication prescribed at abortion clinics.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect on  (a) patient care and  (b) clinical priorities of the four-hour waiting time target for accident and emergency departments.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2007-08, 72 per cent. of trusts achieved the 4 hour standard of 98 per cent. of patients being seen, diagnosed and treated within 4 hours of their arrival at accident and emergency (A and E). As shown in the latest Healthcare Commission emergency department patient survey (2008), the percentage of respondents rating their overall care as excellent, very good or good was high at 88 per cent. It is important that patients have access to high quality timely care in A and E. However, we recognise that there are still areas for improvement and would encourage all trusts to examine their results and use these as a means to continue to improve patients' experience of A and E services.
	Investment and reform is working. Our drive to eliminate long waits in A and E has made local health services work in new and better ways resulting in faster access to treatment for patients.
	There are occasions when, for clinical reasons, patients may need to remain in A and E for longer than four hours—but it is for clinicians to make that judgment. That is why the minimum operating figure of 98 per cent. was introduced in 2003, following discussions with clinicians, to allow for the minority of patients that clinically require more than 4 hours in A and E.
	It is a local matter for national health service trusts to ensure that they meet the A and E four hour operational standard while not compromising patient care and clinical priorities. In cases of underperforming trusts it is for the primary care trusts and strategic health authorities (SHAs) to ensure that there are plans in place for improvement so all patients can expect the same high quality service. Where there is sustained underperformance, the Department seeks assurances via the SHA that NHS trusts have robust plans in place for improvement in A and E performance, in providing high quality, timely care to patients.

Air Pollution

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effects of levels of particulate pollution on the mortality rate;
	(2)  if he will publish the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants' draft paper entitled, Long-term exposure to air pollution: effect on mortality, produced in 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) advises the UK Health Department on the effects on health of both outdoor and indoor air pollutants.
	The most recent assessment of the effects of particulate pollution on mortality was published in 2007 by COMEAP: draft report—"Long-term Exposure to Air Pollution: Effect on Mortality". This report indicated that the collected evidence pointed strongly to an association between long-term exposure to particulate air pollution and effects on mortality. The report suggests that air pollution has a greater effect on mortality in the United Kingdom than previously thought, with a 10 microgramme increase in fine particles being associated with a 6 per cent. increase in risk of death from all-causes.
	The final version of the report, previously published for technical comment for a period of six weeks, will be published in May 2009.
	The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has calculated the estimated loss of life expectancy linked to particulate pollution in its 2007 review of the UK's Air Quality Strategy. This calculation utilised the recommendations made by COMEAP in its 2007 draft report. DEFRA estimated that the level of man-made particulate air pollution experienced in the UK in 2005 would be expected to reduce life expectancy averaged over the whole population of the UK by up to about seven to eight months.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of males  (a) between (i) 10 and 16, (ii) 17 and 21 and (iii) 22 and 26 and  (b) over 26 years who have been admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on the number of individual boys and young men hospitalised for alcohol-related conditions is not available, however data on the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions for boys and young men is available and is given in the following table. It is important to note that:
	an individual may account for more than one admission;
	the data given is for alcohol-related hospital admissions only, as data is not available centrally from which alcohol-related attendances in accident and emergency (A&E) departments can be identified; and
	most attendances at A&E will not result in admission to hospital.
	
		
			  Finished alcohol-related admissions of males aged 10 or over, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  Age  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 10 to 16 3,792 4,008 4,214 4,340 3,986 
			 17 to 21 11,042 12,270 13,940 14,677 15,026 
			 22 to 26 11,127 12,646 14,375 15,047 15,332 
			 Over 26 325,053 369,709 423,744 464,939 502,942 
			  Notes: 1. Includes activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 2.  Alcohol-related admissions: The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions. Figures for under 16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under 16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol—that is, those with an attributable fraction of one. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9) 3.  Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis: These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. 4 . Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 5.  Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 6.  Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. 7.  Secondary diagnosis: As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2007-08 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. 8.  Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 9.  Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. 10. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. 11. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 12.  Assignment of Episodes to Years: Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) men and  (b) women in each age group have been admitted to hospital for stomach pumping procedures as a result of alcohol poisoning in each month of the last three years.

Ann Keen: There were zero admissions to hospital for stomach pumping procedures in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. This is most likely due to the fact that stomach pumping usually takes place in accident and emergency departments, without the need for the patient to be admitted to hospital. Data on stomach pumping procedures in accident and emergency departments is not collected centrally.

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1302W, on contaminated blood and blood products, what timetable he has set for responding to the recommendations made by Lord Archer; by what mechanism that response will be made; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Ministers have met Lord Archer to discuss his recommendations. These recommendations are receiving very careful consideration, and we will respond in due course.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1223W, on hospitals: infectious diseases, for what reasons the average of all quarters of the year was not used to calculate the reduction in methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The October to December 2008 quarter was used because it was the most recent information available. There is a downward trend over the last three quarters, April to June 2008 being a 56 per cent. reduction, July to September 2008 a 62 per cent. reduction and October to December 2008 a 65 per cent. reduction compared to the 2003-04 quarterly average.

Medical Equipment: Finance

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many funding applications for development of medical devices were received in the last three years for which information is available;
	(2)  how many medical technology developers received development grants of above £30,000 in the last three years for which information is available;
	(3)  which Government funding agency distributed the most funding to medical technology developers in the last three years for which information is available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information available in respect of the three years from 2006-07 to 2008-09 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Medical technology research: 2005-08 
			  Funding body  Applications received  Grants of or exceeding £30,000 awarded 
			 National Institute for Health Research: Invention for Innovation and Health Technology Devices programmes 172 20 
			 National Institute for Health Research: New and Emerging Applications of Technology programme n/a 61 
			 Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences Research Council n/a 7 
			 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 369 132 
			 Medical Research Council n/a 211 
			 Technology Strategy Board 70 30 
			 n/a = not available  Note: The 132 awards made by the EPSRC have a total value of £81 million.

National Burn Care Group

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the National Burn Care Group's last meeting was before its meeting on 24 February 2009.

Ann Keen: The last meeting of the National Burn Care Group before its meeting on 24 February was on Tuesday 25 November 2008.

NHS: Death Rate

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, column 900W, on NHS: death rate, for what reasons 43 of the alerts in the first year were not followed up.

Ben Bradshaw: The Care Quality Commission, which took over from the Healthcare Commission on 1 April 2009, has informed us that the reasons why 43 of the alerts that the Healthcare Commission considered where not followed up with the trusts concerned are set out in table 2 on page 18 of the Healthcare Commission's report "Following up mortality 'outliers'," which is published at:
	www.cqc.org.uk/_db/_documents/Following_up_mortality_outliers_200903244704.pdf

NHS: Drugs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims relating to adverse reactions to prescription drugs were paid by the NHS Litigation Authority in each of the last five years; and what the total value of those payments was.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority records this type information within case notes within each individual claim. The answer could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

NHS: Industrial Health and Safety

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) RIDDOR and  (b) non-RIDDOR incidents were reported in each NHS organisation identified by organisation code in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	It is not possible for the Health and Safety Executive to provide a full reply to the question as non-reportable RIDDOR incidents are inherently not reported to HSE. Additionally HSE does not have the details of NHS organisations identified by organisation code.
	However, workplaces coded to SIC 85.1 'Human health activities' excluding subclass 85.11/2, 'Private sector hospital activities' will be a reasonable approximation to the NHS as a whole. The following table shows the numbers of incidents of different types reported to HSE and local authorities from such workplaces under RIDDOR between 2003-04 and 2007-08(1). The data is not coded to individual organisations and can not therefore be reliably presented at that level.
	(1) Provisional.
	
		
			   Reportable injuries  Reportable diseases  Reportable dangerous occurrences  Reportable gas incidents 
			 2003-04 12 898 121 318 1 
			 2004-05 12 792 115 381 1 
			 2005-06 13 236 95 404 — 
			 2006-07 13 268 134 422 4 
			 2007-08(1) 12 700 96 400 2 
			 (1) Provisional.  Notes: 1 NHS organisations are identified by Group 85.1, 'Human health activities' (but exclude Subclass 85.11/2, 'Private sector hospital activities'. These are determined according to Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). This system is used in UK official statistics for classifying businesses by the main type of economic activity they are engaged in, and is the responsibility of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest version is 'SIC 2003'. 2 The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995, under which a requirement is placed on the appropriate 'responsible person' to notify the relevant enforcing authority of a reportable event arising from work activity. The 'responsible person' may be the employer of an injured person, a self-employed person, or someone who is control of premises were work is carried on. 3 The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March. 4 Information available under regulation 3(1) of RIDDOR includes three categories of severity of injury to employees and self-employed people (workers): fatal injuries, defined major injuries and other injuries leading to more than three days absence (over-three-day). There are two categories of severity for members of the public: fatal injuries and non-fatal injuries that cause a person to be taken from the site of the accident to hospital. The same regulation includes a list of specified dangerous occurrences; these are events which do not necessarily result in a reportable injury, but have the potential to cause significant harm. 5 Regulation 5 of RIDDOR requires the 'responsible person' to report cases of certain diseases which are linked with specified work activities. In most cases this involves written diagnosis from a registered medical practitioner. 6 Regulation 6(1) of RIDDOR places a requirement on distributors, fillers, importers or suppliers of flammable gas to report any incident in connection with its supply and use which results in a fatality, major injury or condition. An incident can cause more than one fatality or injury. Regulation 6(2) of RIDDOR requires registered installers of gas appliances to provide details of any dangerous gas appliances or fittings to the relevant enforcing authority.

NHS: Manpower

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2009,  Official Report, column 878W, on NHS manpower, what definition his Department uses of  (a) cases involving NHS staff and  (b) actions against NHS staff; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Some cases involving national health service staff are defended by the Department because they concern the implementation or interpretation of departmental policy in the NHS. However, the Department itself does not instigate legal actions against NHS staff. Where such legal action is instigated it is by the NHS organisation concerned.

Thrombosis: Screening

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Wyre Forest of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, column 363W, on venous thromboembolism, what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of hospitals complying with the venous thromboembolism risk assessment policy.

Ann Keen: Currently, at the request of the chief medical officer, Dr. Anita Thomas OBE and her team are visiting throughout the national health service to discuss with senior managers and doctors their strategies for implementing venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment in their hospitals. In monitoring compliance with the Department's VTE risk assessment policy we will take into account the findings from this programme of visits and any information available from other sources, such as the All Party Parliamentary Thrombosis Group.

Tuberculosis

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis have been identified in  (a) agricultural workers and  (b) other persons involved in agriculture in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on occupation of people with tuberculosis is not routinely collected by the Health Protection Agency Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance system, and it is not possible to identify how many people with tuberculosis in the last 12-months were involved in agricultural employment.

Cybercrime

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought following investigations by the e-crime unit in the Serious and Organised Crime Agency since its establishment.

Alan Campbell: From April 2006 until March 2008, as stated in response to House of Commons question answered on 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 357W, the Serious Organised Crime Agency's e-crime unit was involved in 15 convictions. SOCA's annual report detailing its performance for 2008-09 will be published in May 2009.
	The child exploitation and online protection centre (CEOP) was involved over the same period in the investigation of offences of alleged child abuse where technology may have been a factor.

G20: Greater London

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her latest estimate is of the policing and security costs incurred in respect of the G20 summit.

Vernon Coaker: As of 7 April 2009, the total estimated policing and security costs incurred by the Metropolitan Police Service in respect of the G20 Summit amounted to £7.2 million.

G20: Greater London

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers from forces other than the Metropolitan Police were deployed to police the G20 summit.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 20 April 2009
	The policing of the G20 Summit was a joint operation between the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the City of London Police and the British Transport Police. The MPS inform me that additionally 329 police officers from other forces assisted in the policing of the G20 Summit. In addition Firearms Recovery Dogs and their handlers were brought in for a total of 12 officer days.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009,  Official Report, column 386W, on the immobilisation of vehicles, when she plans to publish the results of the feasibility study undertaken by the Security Industry Authority on options for the compulsory licensing of vehicle immobilisation companies who work on private land.

Alan Campbell: The Home Secretary announced on 3 April her intention to launch a formal consultation in late April on the options for how best to regulate the wheel-clamping industry. The Government's preferred option will be to introduce compulsory licensing by the Security Industry Authority of wheel-clamping companies.
	The consultation document includes the results of the feasibility study. It will be published at the end of April, and copies will be placed in the House Libraries.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009,  Official Report, column 385W, on immobilisation of vehicles, what proposals she is considering in relation to  (a) signage and  (b) fines.

Phil Woolas: We will launch a formal consultation in late April considering how best to regulate the wheel-clamping industry. The Government's preferred option would introduce compulsory licensing for all wheel-clamping companies, to ensure they uphold standards of conduct, which will be enforced if they are not met.
	The details of the scheme will be decided after the public consultation, but are likely to include maximum penalties that can be charged and standards on signage, including size and visibility.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter dated 22 January 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Abduul Karim Barry.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 25 March 2009.

National DNA Database

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many DNA profiles of subjects aged  (a) under 10,  (b) 11 to 18 and  (c) over 18 years were added to the National DNA Database in 2008; and how many in each category have been added in 2009 to date;
	(2)  how many children under the age of 10 years had details on the national DNA database on  (a) 1 December 2008 and  (b) 1 March 2009;
	(3)  how many children under the age of 10 years have had their details added to the national DNA database since December 2008.

Alan Campbell: The figures given in Table 1 show the number of profiles added to the National DNA Database (NDNAD) by police forces in England and Wales in 2008, broken down by age. The figures given in Table 2 show the number of profiles added to the NDNAD by police forces in England and Wales in 2009 (at 23 March), broken down by age. The age groups represent the age of an individual on the date when their profile was loaded on to the NDNAD. The figures show the number of profiles added to the NDNAD; some of these have since been deleted.
	Information on the number of DNA profiles of children under 10 held on the NDNAD on 1 December 2008 and 1 March 2009 is not available and cannot be obtained retrospectively. However, information is available for other dates in December 2008 and March 2009. On 16 December 2008, there were 62 profiles held on the NDNAD by England and Wales forces of children who were aged under 10.
	There were also a further 29 profiles of children who were aged under 10 when their profile was loaded on to the NDNAD but who were aged 10 or over on 16 December 2008. On 2 March 2009 there were five profiles held on the NDNAD of children who were aged under 10; and one profile of a child who was aged under 10 when his/her profile was loaded on to the NDNAD but who was aged 10 or over on 2 March.
	Table 2 shows that four profiles from children aged under 10 have been loaded to the NDNAD since December 2008. The four samples may have been taken by forces and sent to a forensic laboratory for profiling before 16 December 2008, and then loaded on to the NDNAD by the laboratory at the end of the automated profiling process. These four profiles have since been deleted and at 5 March 2009 all profiles of children who were under 10 when their profile was loaded (regardless of current age) held by England and Wales forces had been deleted from the NDNAD.
	
		
			  Table 1: Profiles added to the NDNAD by England and Wales forces in 2008, broken down by age 
			   Number 
			 Under 10 63 
			 10-18 126,972 
			 Over 18 387,496 
			 Unknown age on load 54 
			 Total 514,585 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Profiles added to the NDNAD by England and Wales forces in 2009( 1) , broken down by age 
			   Number 
			 Under 10 4 
			 10-18 25,610 
			 Over 18 91,222 
			 Unknown age on load 65 
			 Total 116,901 
			 (1) At 23 March 2009

Police

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many of the recommendations of the Flanagan review have been implemented;
	(2)  what progress has been made in implementing each of the recommendations of the Flanagan report;
	(3)  pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 7WS, on policing: publication of reports by Sir David Normington and Jan Berry, which of the 19 recommendations made by Sir Ronnie Flanagan have been implemented.

Jacqui Smith: There has been significant progress in implementing the recommendations from Sir Ronnie Flanagan's Independent Review of Policing in England and Wales. The 59 recommendations made by Sir Ronnie Flanagan (covering both his interim and final reports) required fundamental change to the police service's management and culture. Nevertheless a substantial number of the recommendations have already been implemented and we are working in close partnership with National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and Jan Berry, the new independent Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate to implement all of the recommendations by early 2010.

Police: Bureaucracy

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 91W, on police: bureaucracy, how much time  (a) police officers and  (b) patrol officers spent on (i) incident-related paperwork, (ii) non-incident-related paperwork, (iii) all paperwork and (iv) patrol in 2007-08.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 10 March 2009
	Following the review by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Government have cut the amount of unnecessary bureaucracy to allow the police to focus on local priorities, including:
	Scrapping the foot-long stop and account form;
	Extending a pilot that reduces crime recording by 80 per cent. for 80 per cent. of crimes; and
	Removing all but one national top-down target, to improve public confidence.
	In order to reduce the bureaucracy on officers still further the Government have also abolished the need for police officers to complete the annual police activity analysis form, which asked them to account for their activity for each 15 minute working period of their shifts over a two week period—a step which alone frees up the equivalent of 150 extra officers and staff. Therefore the figures requested will not be produced in the future, as to request them would take police officers away from the front line. The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Table A: All officers 2007-08 
			  Percentage 
			  Year( 1)  Time spent on incident-related paperwork  Time spent on non incident-related paperwork  Total time spent on p aperwork  Time spent on patrol( 2) 
			 2007-08(3) 12.4 9.3 21.7 13.8 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Patrol officers 2007-08 
			  Percentage 
			  Year( 1)  Time spent on incident-related paperwork  Time spent on non incident-related paperwork  Total time spent on  p aperwork  Time spent on patrol 
			 2007-08(3) 10.7 9.2 19.9 17.8 
			 (1) The information is taken from activity analysis, which is collected by all forces over a two-week period in each year and provides a snapshot of how officers are deployed. (2) Includes officers on foot/car/beat patrol, CID and traffic officers. (3) Excluding Staffordshire. 
		
	
	It should be noted that the front line policing measure offers the fullest picture of police officer activity. It measures time spent by police on core policing duties such as patrol, responding to 999 calls as well as activities of CID and specialist officers. In 2007-08 the front line policing measure was 64.9 per cent. for police officers and 64.4 per cent. for patrol officers.
	This data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. The data are provisional and may be subject to change.

Police: Standards

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to page 29 of the Policing Green Paper Policing Our Communities Together, which police forces had met the standards in the Policing Pledge prior to the introduction of the Pledge.

Jacqui Smith: The Policing Pledge builds on best practice and sets new, consistent standards for the police service for visibility, accessibility, responsiveness and providing information to the public. While many forces previously had their own standards these were not consistent and they have not previously been commonly made public.
	Following implementation of the Pledge nationally, the public now know the minimum standard of service they can expect to receive from the police everywhere in England and Wales and have a greater say over the issues that they would like the police to prioritise in their local areas.
	The Home Office does not keep central records on delivery of the standards in the Policing Pledge. HMIC will validate the delivery of the Pledge through their inspection process and police authorities will also wish to be satisfied that the Pledge is being delivered for local people.

Sexual Assault Referral Centres: Finance

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding the Government has provided to sexual assault referral centres in each year since their introduction.

Alan Campbell: Although sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) are primarily resourced at a local level in order to ensure sustainability, the Government have supported the establishment and development of the SARC network through a series of grants since 2003-04.
	Based on the best available information, the approximated total of grants awarded to sexual assault referral centres since 2003-04 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Total (£000) 
			 2003-04 300 
			 2004-05 310 
			 2005-06 709 
			 2006-07 620 
			 2007-08 805 
			 2008-09 663 
			  Source: Home Office SARC funding.

Terrorism: Crime Prevention

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2009,  Official Report, column 695W, on terrorism, 
	(1)  what proportion of the £2.5 billion counter-terrorism and intelligence budget is accounted for by the counter-terrorism strategy;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the counter-terrorism and intelligence budget in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11, broken down by the proportion to be spent on the counter-terrorism strategy in each year.

Vernon Coaker: The single security and intelligence budget, which includes Government spending on counter-terrorism and intelligence, was announced as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. It is forecast to rise from £2.5 billion in 2008-09 to £3.5 billion in 2010-11. This budget is wider than just expenditure on the Government's counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. Breaking down this budget by specific counter-terrorism and intelligence activities, beyond what is published already, would reveal our capabilities and details of the security and intelligence agencies spending. It has been the policy of successive governments not to reveal these details.

Terrorism: Statistics

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Statistical Bulletin on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes 11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008 will be published; and what the reasons are for the time taken.

Jacqui Smith: The Statistical Bulletin on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes will be published when ongoing checks to ensure data quality ahead of publication are complete.

Vetting

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department  (a) how many and  (b) what percentage of record checks processed by the Criminal Records Bureau were completed (i) within (A) 10, (B) 14, (C) 25, (D) 60 and (ii) in over 60 days in each police force area in 2008-09.

Vernon Coaker: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) operates to a set of published service standards (PSS) which are to issue 90 per cent. of standard disclosures within 10-days and 90 per cent. of enhanced disclosures within 28-days.
	The targets mentioned above are not CRB targets for completion of a disclosure but part of an internal service level agreement (SLA) in place between the CRB and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). This SLA has been agreed by ACPO on behalf of the 43 local police forces in England and Wales and the time taken by each force to complete their part of the enhanced disclosure process is measured against these targets. By meeting these targets the police forces directly affect the CRB's ability to meet the PSS for enhanced disclosures.
	The following table illustrates the number of checks completed by each police force in 10-days, 14-days, 25-days, 60-days and over 60-days during 2008-09.
	
		
			   Checks completed in  10  days or fewer  Checks completed in 11-14 days  Checks completed in 15-25 days  Checks completed in 26-60 days  Checks completed in 61 or more days  Total  c hecks  c ompleted 
			  Police force  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No. 
			 Avon and Somerset 73,190 57.9 28,733 22.7 10,657 8.4 13,521 10.7 305 0.2 126,406 
			 Bedfordshire 50,202 97.5 802 1.6 425 0.8 64 0.1 0 0.0 51,493 
			 British Transport Police 4,645 15.0 9,745 31.5 14,007 45.3 2,517 8.1 33 0.1 30,947 
			 Cambridgeshire 39,848 58.2 1,775 2.6 1,190 1.7 21,384 31.2 4,321 6.3 68,518 
			 Cheshire 21,901 26.9 22,406 27.5 18,114 22.2 16,220 19.9 2,811 3.5 81,452 
			 City of London 2,025 55.0 119 3 9 280 7.6 1,010 27.5 245 6.7 3,679 
			 Cleveland 29,634 74.6 511 1.3 1,629 4.1 7,471 18.8 499 1.3 39,744 
			 Cumbria 23,329 64.9 7,405 20.6 4,738 13.2 455 1.3 5 0.0 35,932 
			 Derbyshire 10,712 13.7 6,335 8.1 47,965 61.3 10,376 13.3 2,862 3.7 78,250 
			 Devon and Cornwall 118,346 86.3 13,644 10.0 3,293 2.4 1,432 1.0 377 0.3 137,092 
			 Dorset 55,815 93.3 3,715 6.2 160 0.3 98 0.2 23 0.0 59,811 
			 Durham 40,010 88.3 1,300 2.9 2,579 5.7 1,199 2.6 248 0.5 45,336 
			 Dyfed-Powys 36,527 85.7 4,909 11.5 1,027 2.4 176 0.4 3 0.0 42,642 
			 Essex 91,464 72.2 8,796 6.9 12,257 9.7 12,232 9.7 1,900 1.5 126,649 
			 Gloucester 41,280 86.4 2,143 4.5 1,875 3.9 580 1.2 1,907 4.0 47,785 
			 Greater Manchester 151,002 68.4 16,140 7.3 18,320 8.3 20,054 9.1 15,373 7.0 220,889 
			 Guernsey 561 48.0 462 39.6 115 9.8 29 2.5 1 0.1 1,168 
			 Gwent 26,399 67.6 3,559 9.1 4,046 10.4 4,575 11.7 456 1.2 39,035 
			 Hampshire 112,088 72.3 1,767 1.1 5,078 3.3 32,565 21.0 3,552 2.3 155,050 
			 Hertfordshire 79,706 87.4 5,754 6.3 4,199 4.6 1,406 1.5 136 0.1 91,201 
			 Humberside 6,467 10.0 463 0.7 7,523 11.7 36,902 57.3 13,033 20.2 64,388 
			 Isle of Man 101 6.4 14 0.9 285 18.0 1,143 72.0 44 2.8 1,587 
			 Jersey 146 8.1 8 0.4 342 19.1 1,240 69.1 59 3.3 1,795 
			 Kent 80,997 63.2 23,443 18.3 15,950 12.4 6,290 4.9 1,458 1.1 128,138 
			 Lancashire 105,631 88.3 8,010 6.7 4,720 3.9 1,272 1.1 14 0.0 119,647 
			 Leicestershire 45,668 56.4 6,099 7.5 9,834 12.1 5,289 6.5 14,148 17.5 81,038 
			 Lincolnshire 46,184 56.2 3,078 3.7 5,024 6.1 27,172 33.0 790 1.0 82,248 
			 Merseyside 93,307 77.5 5,237 4.4 14,961 12.4 6,587 5.5 245 0.2 120,337 
			 Metropolitan 221,050 36.0 48,262 7.9 65,958 10.8 152,762 24.9 125,294 20.4 613,326 
			 Norfolk 40,924 64.3 8,507 13.4 7,112 11.2 5,145 8.1 1,990 3.1 63,678 
			 North Wales 46,169 75.3 2,889 4.7 5,035 8.2 6,001 9.8 1,247 2.0 61,341 
			 North Yorkshire 27,015 36.5 14,130 19.1 24,189 32.6 8,774 11.8 3 0.0 74,111 
			 Northamptonshire 45,392 80.2 5,308 9.4 5,256 9.3 586 1.0 23 0.0 56,565 
			 Northumbria 72,802 70.3 7,281 7.0 13,236 12.8 6,318 6.1 3,871 3.7 103,508 
			 Nottinghamshire 46,436 60.5 19,744 25.7 7,941 10.3 1,913 2.5 708 0.9 76,742 
			 PSNI 13,421 98.0 43 0.3 117 0.9 109 0.8 3 0.0 13,693 
			 South Wales 78,374 85.6 3,512 3.8 1,647 1.8 3,761 4.1 4,239 4.6 91,533 
			 South Yorkshire 62,443 69.0 7,951 8.8 2,114 2.3 6,041 6.7 11,957 13.2 90,506 
			 Staffordshire 23,575 29.0 18,535 22.8 13,972 17.2 7,704 9.5 17,616 21.6 81,402 
			 Suffolk 16,247 31.9 3,949 7.8 13,404 26.3 13,476 26.5 3,821 7.5 50,897 
			 Surrey 74,046 72.5 9,299 9.1 8,650 8.5 5,578 5.5 4,500 4.4 102,073 
			 Sussex 65,760 51.8 29,087 22.9 27,519 21.7 4,549 3.6 8 0.0 126,923 
			 Thames Valley 38,595 20.4 18,924 10.0 37,864 20.0 78,487 41.5 15,213 8.0 189,083 
			 Warwickshire 36,006 89.7 1,523 3.8 1,456 3.6 1,115 2.8 22 0.1 40,122 
			 West Mercia 87,990 84.8 7,034 6.8 6,680 6.4 1,834 1.8 195 0.2 103,733 
			 West Midlands 85,224 38.2 35,247 15.8 64,367 28.9 14,248 6.4 23,752 10.7 222,838 
			 West Yorkshire 81,315 49.6 16,057 9.8 29,465 18.0 36,932 22.5 147 0.1 163,916 
			 Wiltshire 37,242 72.1 2,246 4.3 408 0.8 3,479 6.7 8,289 16.0 51,664 
			 MOD and PGA 2,121 95.4 56 2.5 35 1.6 11 0.5 0 0.0 2,223 
			 Royal Military Police 12,698 91.2 379 2.7 457 3.3 268 1.9 127 0.9 13,929 
			 Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency 23 44.2 5 9.6 8 15.4 10 19.2 6 11.5 52 
			 UK Central Authority 29 93.5 2 6.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 31 
			 Central 892 47.2 300 15.9 333 17.6 351 18.6 14 0.7 1,890 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 991 43.3 355 15.5 460 20.1 466 20.3 19 0.8 2,291 
			 Fife 1,114 44.9 370 14.9 469 18.9 504 20.3 25 1.0 2,482 
			 Grampian 1,902 44.1 595 13.8 880 20.4 893 20.7 42 1.0 4,312 
			 Lothian and Borders 4,173 46.4 1,343 14.9 1,709 19.0 1,714 19.1 48 0.5 8,987 
			 Northern 1,183 46.4 366 14.3 435 17.1 447 17.5 120 4.7 2,551 
			 Scottish Criminal Records Office 739 43.7 256 15.1 303 17.9 349 20.6 45 2.7 1,692 
			 Strathclyde 6,053 45.5 1,965 14.8 2,412 18.1 2,759 20.7 127 1.0 13,316 
			 Tayside 1,495 42.6 493 14.0 639 18.2 745 21.2 138 3.9 3,510 
			  2,620,624 — 452,385 — 555,123 — 600,588 — 288,457 — 4,517,177

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many penalty notices for disorder were issued  (a) in a police station and  (b) on the street in 2007.

Jack Straw: Information available to the Ministry of Justice on the number of persons aged 16 and over issued with a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) in  (a) a police station and  (b) on the street, in England and Wales, 2007 can be viewed in the following table.
	2008 data will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	PNDs were introduced under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, to provide the police with a simple financial punishment to deal with minor disorder offences either at a police station or on the street. Operational guidance to forces issued by the Secretary of State for Justice sets out the criteria which should be considered by officers in deciding where to issue a PND.
	
		
			  Number of persons aged 16 and over issued with a Penalty Notice for Disorder in a police station and on the street in England and Wales, 2007( 1) 
			  England and Wales  Number 
			 Police station 115,939 
			 Street 91,605 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: OCJR E&A (Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis Unit), Ministry of Justice

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate has been made of the proportion of personal computers in each of his Department's offices that are turned off  (a) overnight,  (b) at weekends and  (c) during holiday periods; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice is committed to reducing its carbon emissions in accordance with the campaign initiated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Activities. Most of the Department's IT equipment is switched off over night, as a matter of routine. The capability for automated shut down is being added into PCs as a rolling programme of replacement takes place.
	There are some PCs that have had to be left on in order to safeguard overnight data processing on some systems. In conjunction with our IT suppliers we are currently piloting a technical solution to remove this need. If successful it will be rolled out to all relevant areas of the Department.
	Within National Offender Management Service, including Her Majesty's Prison Service, computers that are logged off but left switched on will automatically shut down out of office hours.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of his Department were compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice is committed to reducing its carbon emissions in accordance with the campaign initiated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Activities.
	The Ministry of Justice out sources its IT function and the selection and purchase of IT equipment is conducted by its suppliers. MOJ's IT contracts include contractual criteria in line with the version of the OGC Buy Sustainable Quick Wins which were available at the time. Consequentially, IT devices will comply with the Buy Sustainable Quick Wins criteria for the contract they are purchased under.
	As the Buy Sustainable Quick Win standards have become more comprehensive than those in the current contractual commitment, precise numbers and proportions of procured IT devices that comply with the updated standard have not been recorded.
	The Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standards are referenced as part of MOJ's Sustainable Procurement Policy and therefore are part of the criteria that MOJ will include in its contract negotiations for ICT equipment and services. MOJ is in discussion with its suppliers regarding a commitment to use the current the Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standards as the minimum for future purchases.

Legal Aid: Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, column 453W, on legal aid: housing, when the information sought will be collated.

Shahid Malik: I wrote to the hon. Member on 20 April with the information sought and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Magistrates Courts

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were heard in magistrates' courts in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, heard at magistrates courts and committed for trial at crown court, for all offences in England and Wales, 1997 to 2007 can be viewed in the following table.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, heard at magistrates courts and committed for trial at the Crown court, for all offences in England and Wales, 1997 to 2007( 1, 2, 3) 
			   Of which: 
			   Proceeded against at magistrates courts  Heard at magistrates courts  Committed for trial at crown court 
			 1997 1,855,333 1,767,654 87,679 
			 1998 1,951,915 1,878,537 73,378 
			 1999 1,881,765 1,809,475 72,290 
			 2000 1,904,677 1,834,437 70,240 
			 2001 1,837,733 1,758,564 79,169 
			 2002 1,924,828 1,842,003 82,825 
			 2003 2,000,822 1,919,227 81,595 
			 2004 2,022,604 1,944,195 78,409 
			 2005 1,895,002 1,814,128 80,874 
			 2006 1,779,307 1,699,839 79,468 
			 2007 1,732,506 1,648,071 84,435 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) All cases are initially proceeded against (i.e. prosecuted) at magistrates courts, where the majority are then heard. Other more serious cases are committed for trial at the crown court. (4) Includes proceeding discontinued, discharged, withdrawn, dismissed, and found guilty at the magistrates courts.  Source: OCJR-E and A: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis' Unit, Ministry of Justice—Our ref: PQ 268866 (Table)

Prisoners Release

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many early releases under the end of custody licence release scheme there have been from each prison in each month since the scheme came into effect, broken down by original offence; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: Information on the number of prisoners released under the End of Custody Licence (ECL) scheme each month by (a) prison establishment, and separately (b) offence group have been placed in the House Library. To produce a table that showed a combined breakdown of the number of ECL releases each month by offence group in each prison establishment would incur disproportionate cost.
	The figures presented in the answer are published monthly and available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/endofcustodylicence.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Probation Service: Manpower

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in each cohort are in training to enter the Probation Service; and how many posts in the service he estimates will be available for newly qualified people from each cohort.

Jack Straw: There are two cohorts of trainee probation officers currently in training. Cohort 10 numbers 513 and Cohort 11 numbers 305. The majority of cohort 10 will qualify in September this year. It is too early to predict the numbers who will be offered employment.
	Probation training is currently subject to a major review, so that in future trainees will be offered jobs at the start of the training, not at the end.

Victim Support Schemes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to improve support for families of murder victims.

Maria Eagle: In January 2009 the Government appointed Ms. Sara Payne as Victims' Champion to ensure that the views of victims and those bereaved by homicide are heard. The Victims' Champion has been meeting with victims of all crime types to better understand what works well in the system and where there is need for further reform. Ms Payne will feed these views to Ministers throughout the year.
	Since October 2007 the CPS has offered bereaved relatives a pre-trial meeting with the CPS prosecutor to answer any questions they may have. They also offer the option of the prosecution advising on and reading out the family impact statement in court, enabling the family to express how the crime has affected them.
	The Office of Criminal Justice Reform has recently updated the information pack "information for the bereaved" given by Family Liaison Officers to bereaved family and friends following murder and manslaughter. This pack provides useful information about decisions and arrangements bereaved families and friends may need to make. It also explains how the Criminal Justice System works and the role of the police, the coroner and the courts. It provides contact details of various organisations and support groups to which bereaved families and friends can be signposted. The updated guide is due to be published in May.
	The Office for Criminal Justice Reform has been working closely with Support after Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM) to develop the services the charity provides to victims of homicide and improve awareness of victim needs within partner organisations, particularly the police service. SAMM staff and volunteers deliver training to family liaison officers and other statutory agencies who provide direct support to those bereaved through homicide.
	SAMM receives a grant of £140,000 a year from the OCJR to deliver services.

Victim Support Schemes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to improve support for those injured in road traffic accidents where another person or persons has been found criminally liable for their injuries.

Maria Eagle: Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (2004), victims of road traffic incidents are referred by the police to Victim Support for dedicated one to one support. This includes victims of traffic incidents where someone has been found liable for a criminal offence.
	Since 2007 the Government have provided significant additional investment to Victim Support (£12.6 million) to enable the organisation to either deliver services directly to victims or to commission additional, tailored services for victims that it may be unable to provide itself.
	In addition each family will be assigned a police family liaison officer who will work with the family throughout the investigation. The FLO will assist the family by liaising with any support services they may need.
	In all road traffic incidents involving serious injury or death the police will provide a copy of the bereavement guide which is funded by the Government and produced by the charity, Brake. The guide provides useful information that is relevant both to those seriously injured and those who are bereaved.
	Since October 2007 the CPS for cases involving homicide and qualifying cases involving road traffic the CPS has offered bereaved relatives a pre-trial meeting with the CPS prosecutor to answer any questions they may have. They also offer the option of the prosecution advising on and reading out the family impact statement in court, enabling the family to express how the crime has affected them.

China

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 734-5W, on China, which colleagues he has met in relation to his visit to China; and on what dates.

Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend discussed this visit with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and other ministerial colleagues in the weeks leading up to his visit to China.

China

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2009,  Official Report, column 735W, on China, on what date he received the invitation from the Scottish Council for Development and Industry; what form it took; and on what date he decided to accept the invitation.

Ann McKechin: There was correspondence between officials of my Department and SCDI in January followed by a meeting which took place in February where the matter was discussed after which my right hon. Friend confirmed he would lead the SCDI trade delegation.

Departmental Photographs

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, column 831W, how much his Department has spent on official portraits of its Ministers since October 2008.

Ann McKechin: Nothing. The Scotland Office has not commissioned any official portraits of its Ministers since October 2008.

Banks: Carbon Emissions

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will direct UK Financial Investments to estimate the potential revenue arising from a tax on the carbon dioxide liabilities contained in investments by  (a) Royal Bank of Scotland,  (b) Lloyds TSB/ Halifax Bank of Scotland,  (c) Northern Rock and  (d) Bradford and Bingley.

Ian Pearson: The overarching objective of UK Financial Investments Ltd. (UKFI) is to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder, with due regard to the maintenance of financial stability and promoting competition.
	As with all banks, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley are bound by statutory duties and tax liabilities.
	The estimates requested are not available.

Mortgages

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the levels of activity of specialist lenders in the UK mortgage market on  (a) the availability of buy-to-let mortgage finance,  (b) competition in the provision of buy-to-let mortgages and  (c) the ability of the private rented sector to meet housing need;
	(2)  pursuant to the oral Statement of 19 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 482-86, on financial markets, what plans he has to facilitate an increase in the supply of mortgage finance for investment in the private rented sector through the lending support schemes being developed by his Department.

Ian Pearson: On 19 January, the Government announced measures designed to reinforce the stability of the financial system, to increase confidence and capacity to lend, and in turn to support the recovery of the economy. These build on measures announced on 8 October last year.
	These measures have helped to stabilise the credit market. This is an essential condition for banks to develop greater confidence to lend in the future to creditworthy businesses, homeowners and consumers.
	The Government value and support the role of private rented sector in providing flexible accommodation for many households. In 2008 the Government commissioned an independent review of the private rented sector by Julie Rugg and David Rhodes. The Government expect to publish their initial response to their report later in the spring.
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) publishes data on lending, including buy-to-let lending, available at:
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/statistics

Royal Bank of Scotland: Pensions

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will direct UK Financial Investments to establish whether the Royal Bank of Scotland pension scheme contains a forfeiture clause under the terms of the Pensions Act 1995.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 March 2009
	UK Financial Investments Ltd. (UKFI) manages the Government's shareholdings in financial institutions on a commercial and arms length basis.
	UKFI has agreed with the banks in which Government have investments that they will assure themselves that all payouts to former directors were no more than legally necessary.
	With the agreement of UK Financial Investments Ltd. (UKFI), Sir Philip Hampton, the new chairman of RBS, has appointed a senior independent QC to carry out a full legal investigation of the issues relating to Sir Fred Goodwin's pension. This investigation is ongoing.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the  (a) energy consumed by,  (b) energy cost of and  (c) carbon dioxide emissions from each category of IT device in each division of his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: Wales Office IT services are provided by the Ministry of Justice.
	We continually address our need to reduce our carbon footprint as a whole. We are developing our Sustainability development action plan which will examine how our IT might consume less energy overall.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps his Department has taken to address the effect on levels of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department of its ICT purchases since the publication of the Greening Government ICT Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The Wales Office is developing a Sustainability development action plan that will incorporate ways of reducing our carbon footprint.
	We have adopted a "switch off" policy that all staff should shut down IT appliances at the end of the working day. We are also looking at options including replacing single-sided with two-sided printers.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of his Department were compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The Wales Office has all its IT products supplied through the Ministry of Justice IT central contract.

Departmental Rail Travel

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance his Department issues on whether members of staff may claim for travel in first class carriages on trains if there are no seats in standard class.

Paul Murphy: My Department has no written guidance on this specific point. Train tickets are normally booked in advance and with seat reservations, taking advantage of discounts.

StartHere

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the potential of Starthere to deliver the Government's digital inclusion strategy.

Paul Murphy: NHS Choices and Directgov have been working with StartHere over the past six months to evaluate its potential to support the delivery of the Government's digital inclusion strategy. The findings from the evaluation are currently under consideration by NHS Choices and Directgov and are due to be published by the end of April 2009. This evaluation will support any formal recommendations for the use of StartHere by Government.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Annual Reports

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when she expects the Commission for Equality and Human Rights' Annual Report for 2007-08 to be published; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Equality and Human Rights Commission's April 2006-March 2008 annual report and accounts will be published after they are formally laid in Parliament. They are currently with the National Audit Office for sign off.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Pay

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what salary bands there are for staff of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights; how many staff there are in each band; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Equality and Human Rights Commission's salary bands and the number of staff employed within each as at 31 March 2009 are as follows:
	
		
			  Grade  Salary band  Number 
			 Level 1 £15,000 to £18,233 40 
			 Level 2 £20,056.30 to £24,378 72 
			 Level 3 £26,815.80 to £32,595 145 
			 Level 4 £34,224.75 to £41,600 90 
			 Level 5 £43,680 to £53,093 69 
			 Director £55,747.65 to £90,000 18 
			 Group Director £92,000 to £130,000 3 
			 Total  437

Christmas Bonus

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of recipients of the Christmas bonus will receive their payment  (a) together with their basic state pension and  (b) as a separate payment, broken down by date of receipt of bonus; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The standard £10 Christmas Bonus was paid as normal before Christmas to all those who qualified. Payments of the additional Christmas Bonus were paid as outlined in the following table:
	
		
			   Paid with benefit  Per- centage  Paid separately  Per- centage  Paid from  week commencing 
			 State Pension 4,700,769 43 6,219,568 57 5 January 2009 
			 Pension Credit — — 1,418,260 100 23 February 2009 
			 Incapacity Benefit 369,184 28 941,063 72 5 January 2009 
			 Industrial Injuries 0 — 1,320 100 2 March 2009 
			 Disability living allowance and attendance allowance 0 — 1,185,093 100 2 March 2009 
			 Carer's allowance 0 — 498,452 100 2 March 2009 
			 Employment support allowance 0 — 70 100 2 March 2009 
			 Veterans allowance 0 — 8,972 100 2 March 2009 
			 Totals 5,069,953 33 10,272,798 67 — 
			  Notes: 1. State Pension figures include customers in receipt of Widows and Bereavement Benefit. 2. The Pension Credit figures include customers receiving their State Pension and Pension Credit payments combined. Christmas Bonus payments in these cases are paid with Pension Credit.  Source:  Special Payment Programme weekly review document 4 March 2009.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of his Department's capital expenditure in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10,  (c) 2010-11 and  (d) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department's Capital Budgets were published by HM Treasury as part of the pre-Budget report in November 2008. Please refer to page 214 of this report for the Department's Capital DEL estimated expenditure in  (a) 2008-09 and planned Capital DEL expenditure in  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.
	The Government have not set Departments' Capital DEL budgets for years beyond 2010-11. Capital DEL budgets for 2011-12 and beyond are a matter for the next spending review. The Government do, however, publish projections for PSNI (Public Sector Net Investment) over the forecast period at Budgets and pre-Budget reports.

Health and Safety Executive: Manpower

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff the Health and Safety Executive has relocated in response to the recommendations made by Sir Michael Lyons in his report on local government; and how many of those staff were  (a) relocated prior to 31 March 2008 and  (b) working in the Offshore Safety Division on the latest date for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 2 April 2009
	As at 31 March 2009, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has relocated a total of 157 posts out of London in response to the recommendations made by Sir Michael Lyons. Within this number, six staff have moved permanently with their posts and a further two are due to follow in the near future.
	Of the 157 posts, 31 were relocated prior to 31 March 2008 and 10 were in the Offshore Safety Division (OSD).

Jobcentre Plus

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many JobPoints have been set up outside Jobcentre Plus since their inception; and in what locations they have been set up.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked the acting chief executive to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many and in what locations JobPoints have been set up outside Jobcentre Plus since their inception. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Locating Jobpoints with external partners is part of our vision to meet the challenge of helping more customers find jobs and remain in work using modern technology. In particular, we are keen to use this approach to focus more on customers with the greatest disadvantages and those who are not in touch with the labour market.
	There are currently 108 JobPoints located away from Jobcentre Plus offices. The locations of these Jobpoints are in the attached annex.
	
		
			  Annex: Locations of Jobcentre Plus Jobpoints 
			  Libraries 
			  Name  Location  Number of jobpoints 
			 Ambleside North West 1 
			 Attleborough East of England 1 
			 Bakewell East Midlands 1 
			 Bewdley West Midlands 1 
			 Bramsholme Yorks and Humber 2 
			 Broadway West Midlands 1 
			 Brynmawr Wales 1 
			 Croxteth North West 1 
			 Dawlish South West 1 
			 Denbigh Wales 1 
			 Easterside North East 1 
			 Eckington East Midlands 1 
			 Gorleston East of England 1 
			 Grove Hill North East 1 
			 Hemlington North East 1 
			 Kelso Scotland 1 
			 Knighton Wales 1 
			 Loanhead Scotland 1 
			 Ludlow West Midlands 1 
			 MileCross East of England 1 
			 Newbridge Wales 1 
			 North Ormesby North East 1 
			 Peebles Scotland 1 
			 Prestatyn Wales 1 
			 Rhymney Wales 1 
			 Risca Wales 1 
			 Shotts Scotland 1 
			 Stourport West Midlands 1 
			 Swaffham East of England 1 
			 Watton East of England 1 
			 Wells Next sea East of England 1 
			 Ystrad Wales 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Adult Education Centres 
			  Name  Jobcentre Plus  Number of jobpoints 
			 University College, Worcester West Midlands 1 
			 Learning 744, Boscombe Bournemouth South West 1 
			 Thorntree Development and Training Centre, Thorntree North East 1 
			 New Mills Adult Education Centre East Midlands 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Children's Centres 
			  Name  Jobcentre Plus Region  Number of jobpoints 
			 Broadwater Farm Primary School, Haringay London 1 
			 Integrated Children's Centre, Cardiff Wales 1 
			 Robert Owen Early Year Centre, Greenwich London 1 
			 The Children's Centre, Bradford Yorkshire and Humberside 1 
			 Tipton Children's Centre, Tipton West Midlands 1 
			 Warren Hills Children's Centre, Leicester East Midlands 1 
			 Gilmerton Children Centre, Edinburgh Scotland 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Community Centres 
			  Name  Jobcentre Plus Region  Number of jobpoints 
			 Beaumaris Community Centre Wales 1 
			 Killamarsh Community Centre East Midlands 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Prisons 
			  Name  Jobcentre Plus Region  Number of jobpoints 
			 Acklington North East 2 
			 Brixton London 2 
			 Featherstone Yorkshire and Humberside 1 
			 Leeds Yorkshire and Humberside 2 
			 Lewes South East 2 
			 Ranby East Midlands 2 
			 Swansea Wales 2 
			 Woodhill East of England 2 
			 Hollesley Bay East of England 1 
			 Northallerton North East 2 
			 Glen Parva East of England 2 
			 Rochester South East 2 
		
	
	
		
			  Leisure Centres 
			  Name  Jobcentre Plus Region  Number of jobpoints 
			 Rainbow Leisure Centre, Middlesbrough North East 1 
			 Tonyrefail Leisure Centre, Rhondda Wales 2 
			 Neptune Centre, Middlesbrough North East 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Local  a uthorities 
			  Name  Jobcentre Plus Region  Number of jobpoints 
			 Birkenhead North West 1 
			 Rock Ferry North West 1 
			 Llandeilo Wales 1 
			 Wychavon West Midlands 1 
			 Caerphilly Wales l 
			 Centenary Court Bradford 1 
		
	
	
		
			  One Stop Shops 
			  Name  Jobcentre Plus Region  Number of jobpoints 
			 Boness Scotland 1 
			 Bromyard West Midlands 1 
			 Denny Scotland 1 
			 Droitwich West Midlands 1 
			 Halewood North West 2 
			 Kilsyth Scotland 1 
			 Motherwell Scotland 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Supermarkets 
			  Name  Location  Number of jobpoints 
			 ASDA Swindon 1 
			 Co-op Teignmouth 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Others 
			  Name  Location  Number of jobpoints 
			 Arts Factory London 2 
			 Bloxwich West Midlands 1 
			 Bulith Wells Enterprise Centre South West 1 
			 Careers West Wales Wales 1 
			 Cyfle Ffestiniog Cyf Wales 1 
			 Hemlington Comm. Partnership North East 1 
			 Ledbury Info Hereford Hlp Pnt West Midlands 1 
			 Llantwit Major Outreach Office Wales 1 
			 LymeNet Community Learning Centre South West 1 
			 North Lanarkshire Volunteer Development Agency Scotland 1 
			 Norton Radstock Infoplus South West 1 
			 Stansted Airport East of England 1 
			 St. Helen's Starting Point North West 1 
			 Trafford Centre North West 2 
			 Treharris Communities First Wales 1 
			 Working for Families Fund Scotland 1 
			 Wythenshawe Forum Futures North West 2

Jobcentre Plus

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of people who have used the Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response service in the last 12-months and  (b) the number and proportion of those people who found employment through the service.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves dated 21 April 2009:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what estimate he has made of (a) the number of people who have used the Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response service in the last 12 months and (b) the number and proportion of those people who found employment through the service. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Rapid Response Service (RRS) was expanded in November 2008. The service is now available whenever an employer is faced with a possible need to make people redundant. We contact each employer who notifies the Insolvency Service of a proposal to make 20 or more people redundant at one establishment. We also offer RRS support to other employers who we know are going to make people redundant whenever we judge that the potential impact on the local labour market of the cumulative effect of recent redundancies justifies using RRS.
	Since the service was expanded, over 1,000 employers have accepted offers of RRS support for employees facing redundancy, or the possibility of redundancy. Our administrative records suggest that, all told, more than 150,000 employees were facing possible redundancy in those situations.
	We do not record the numbers of people finding jobs during the delivery of RRS support. The RRS is just one part of the overall service we provide to people who lose their jobs and need help to move back into work as quickly as possible.

Jobcentre Plus: Police

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times the police have been called to jobcentres in each year since 1997; and what the reasons were, broken down by category.

Tony McNulty: Jobcentre Plus does not routinely capture information on how often and for what reasons the police are called to Jobcentres. Where any situation arises that puts, or could put, staff or members of the public in danger, Jobcentre Plus will, as a matter of course, involve the local police force.

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how his Department measures the performance against objectives of the Jobcentre Plus rapid response service;
	(2)  what information his Department collects on the job outcomes achieved by the Jobcentre Plus rapid response service.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves dated 21 April 2009:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how his Department measures the performance against objectives of the Jobcentre Plus rapid response service; and what information his Department collects on the job outcomes of the Jobcentre Plus rapid response service. These fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Our objective is to ensure that the support of the Rapid Response Service (RRS) is offered whenever it might be appropriate for the employer and employees concerned. The purpose of the RRS is to provide early and immediate help to employees facing redundancy through advice and support on such issues as benefits, the local labour market and effective job search.
	In that context, we contact each employer who notifies the Insolvency Service of a proposal to make 20 or more people redundant, and also offer support to other employers we believe to be making redundancies whenever we judge that the cumulative impact of redundancies on the local labour market justifies using RRS. In some cases employers contact us, and we will always support employees facing redundancy through RRS when asked to do so.
	Since we extended the RRS in November 2008, we have kept an administrative record of the number of employers who take up our offer of support.
	We do not attempt systematically to record other information, such as the numbers of employees who are given advice and support through RRS, or the job outcomes achieved for the former employees of particular employers, as to do so would be prohibitively expensive. Accordingly, information on the numbers of job outcomes achieved for people who access support through the RRS is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer of 2 February 2009,  Official Report, column 573, on jobseeker's allowance, what proportion of the increase since 1997 in  (a) total employment and  (b) employment of people of working age is accounted for by non-UK citizens.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 9 February 2009
	For the purposes of counting the number of people in employment, it is the convention to use all those in the population of 16 and over, to recognise the contribution made by older workers. At the time of oral questions, the latest data on that basis showed that between Q3 1997 and Q3 2008 over half of the increase was indeed accounted for by UK citizens.

Calor Gas: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will extend the public information zones for the Canvey Island  (a) Calor Gas and  (b) OIKOS sites; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 26 March 2009
	HSE determined the existing public information zones following a detailed assessment of the hazards and risks associated with the Calor Gas Ltd. and OIKOS sites in line with HSE's published policy. There are no plans to extend these public information zones.

Calor Gas: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what substance was spilled at the Canvey Island Calor Gas site on  (a) 15 and  (b) 25 October 2008; what volume of each substance was spilled; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 23 March 2009
	HSE was not notified by Calor Gas Ltd. of any spillage at its Canvey Island site on 15( )October 2008.
	HSE understands that Calor Gas Ltd. reported to Castle Point borough council a release of a stenching agent (ethyl mercaptan) on 10 October 2008 during maintenance work at the plant. This incident was not reportable to HSE.
	HSE was not notified by Calor Gas Ltd. of any spillage at its Canvey Island site on 25 October 2008.

Calor Gas: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  when and to whom Calor Gas reported the spillages which occurred at its Canvey Island site on  (a) 15 and  (b) 25 October 2008;
	(2)  what the location was of the spillage at the Canvey Island Calor Gas site on  (a) 15 and  (b) 25 October 2008;
	(3)  what investigations have been conducted by the Health and Safety Executive into the spillages at the Canvey Island Calor Gas site on  (a) 15 and  (b) 25 October 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the operation of the spill and leak detection systems during the spillages at the Canvey Island Calor Gas site on  (a) 15 and  (b) 25 October 2008;
	(5)  what information was provided to Canvey Island residents in the Public Information Zone surrounding the Calor Gas site about the spillages at the site on  (a) 15 and  (b) 25 October 2008; and when it was given.

Jonathan R Shaw: HSE was not notified by Calor Gas Ltd. of any spillage at its Canvey Island site on 15 October 2008.
	HSE understands that Calor Gas Ltd. reported to Castle Point borough council a release of a stenching agent (ethyl mercaptan) on 10 October 2008 during maintenance work at the plant. This incident was not reportable to HSE.
	HSE was not notified by Calor Gas Ltd. of any spillage at its Canvey Island site on 25 October 2008.
	Calor Gas Ltd. has reported to HSE an incident involving the release of approximately 163 tonnes of liquefied propane gas from a bursting disc fitted to pipe work at its Canvey Island site during a routine ship to shore transfer of the liquefied gas from a marine vessel to a storage tank at the site on 27 October 2008. The liquefied gas was released into a catchment area specifically designed to contain spillages of hazardous liquids.
	HSE is currently undertaking a detailed investigation of the incident. The investigation includes an assessment of the effectiveness of the spill and leak detection systems at the site.
	In March 2003 residents in the public information zone (PIZ) surrounding the Canvey Island site were provided with information about the off-site consequences of possible major accidents. This included information about how people would be warned of an incident with off-site consequences, what action they should take and how they will be kept informed in the event of an emergency at the site.
	Calor Gas Ltd. did not warn or provide specific information to residents within the PIZ in relation to the incident on 27 October 2008 as the release was contained within its Canvey Island site.

Natural Gas: Safety

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to inform the public to the change in the scheme for registrations of gas fitters from Corgi to the Gas Safe Register.

Jonathan R Shaw: The HSE and the Gas Safe Register are publicising the change, notably through a range of television, radio, newspaper, sports and other advertising, and through a variety of other initiatives such as road shows in major shopping centres across Great Britain. Full details of the change are also available on the HSE and Gas Safe Register websites.

Nuclear Installations Inspectorate: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Pontypridd of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 173-74W, what proportion of the time expended by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on the generic design assessment work conducted in the third and fourth quarters of 2008-09 has been recovered from the applicants to date; and what the monetary value of the recovered resource is for each quarter.

Jonathan R Shaw: 99 per cent. of the time expended by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on generic design assessment work in quarter 3 has been invoiced to applicants and one-third (£394,454) has been recovered. HSE is awaiting payment of the remaining two-thirds whose value is £802,600, and this is expected shortly. The remaining £13,341 (1 per cent.) will be invoiced at the end of quarter 4. HSE invoices for its recoverable costs at the end of each quarter, hence none of the time expended in quarter 4, the current quarter, has yet been invoiced or recovered.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of fraud and error losses in working age income support and jobseeker's allowance in each  (a) region and  (b) Jobcentre Plus district (i) in each year since Jobcentre Plus's fraud and error targets were launched and (ii) in each of the last 24 months.

Tony McNulty: The level of fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance is estimated using results from a sample survey of benefit claims, which is designed to produce a robust estimate at the national level.
	The first Monetary Value of Fraud and Error (MVFE) target for Income Support/Jobseeker's Allowance (IS/JSA) in SR02 ran from a baseline year of 1997-98 through to 2005-06. During this period as well as the national estimates used to evaluate progress against the target, tables were also published that showed estimates of MVFE for Government Office Regions, which were equivalent to JCP regions from 2002.
	With the introduction of a new SR04 target in 2005-06 DWP statisticians analysed the historical regional estimates produced during SR02 to assess whether they had been a robust indicator of MVFE at regional level. Analysis showed that for many regions the estimates of fraud and error fluctuated substantially year on year. These fluctuations were judged to be due to the relatively small sample of claims investigated in any one region. Since the sample survey is designed to produce the best estimate at a national level, estimates of fraud and error at a lower geographical level are based on a small sample of claims and have a high risk of not accurately representing the amount of fraud and error for all claims in a region.
	Following this analysis DWP have not published regional estimates from 2006-07 onwards as they were judged to be not robust enough to meet the standards required of national statistics and there was a high risk that fluctuations in the estimates would be misinterpreted as indicating real change in fraud and error in the regions.

Social Security Benefits: Lone Parents

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much he has allocated to fund the childcare costs of lone parents with young children wishing to return to work in 2009-10;
	(2)  from what source funding to cover the childcare costs of lone parents with young children wishing to return to work will come.

Kitty Ussher: As set out in the discussion paper on the next steps in implementing the Gregg Review (28 January 2009) we stated that the costs of childcare for lone parents with young children wishing to return to work are funded from the Department's core DEL budget, and from within that the budget allocated to New Deal for Lone Parents. The initial allocation for New Deal for Lone Parents for 2009-10 is anticipated to be £34 million(based on current assumptions and may be subject to change). We do not specifically allocate budgets for the various components of the New Deal for Lone Parents programme. However, in 2008-09 childcare costs have accounted for just over 18 per cent. of the total spend.

State Retirement Pensions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of raising the state pension by  (a) 10,  (b) 25,  (c) 50 and  (d) 100 per cent.

Rosie Winterton: The net additional cost of increasing the basic State Pension by 10 per cent. 25 per cent. 50 per cent. or 100 per cent. instead of the current baseline assumption of RPI or 2.5 per cent. whichever is the highest, in the year 2009-10 is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Uprating the basic state pension in 2009-10 by:  Net additional annual cost in 2009-10 (£ billion, 2008-09 prices) 
			 10% 2.0 
			 25% 8.1 
			 50% 18.3 
			 100% 39.3 
			  Notes: Estimates are presented in net terms reflecting that the estimated savings from reduced income related benefit payments (pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit) have been deducted from the cost of increasing the basic state pension. The proportions of additional expenditure saved through reduced income related benefit payments have been estimated using the Department's Policy Simulation Model and are assumed to remain constant overtime. In the baseline costing for the financial year 2009-10 Treasury Economic assumptions consistent with the pre-Budget report 2008 have been used to model basic state pension uprating. Estimates are in 2008-09 prices and have been rounded to the nearest £100 million.  Source: DWP modelling

Train to Gain Programme

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what budget headings the £350 million spending on Train to Gain announced in the pre-Budget Report beyond spending already announced will be spent; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 14 January 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	Train to Gain is the Government's flagship service to employers to improve the skills for their employees and the productivity of their business.
	Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) will be top priority for Train to Gain funds including the 350 million growth over the next two years which was announced in the re-budget Report. The 350 million is within the overall Train to Gain delivery' budget heading.
	The 2009-10 grant letter to the Learning and Skills Council sets out the budget for Train to Gain. Train to Gain is a growing programme and we plan to invest 925 million through Train to Gain in 2009-10 and this will increase to over 1 billion per year by 2010-11. Train to Gain is a demand-led service and as such it is not possible to predict the budget spend for 2009-10 for SMEs.

Vocational Training: Lone Parents

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1210W, on vocational training: lone parents, what steps his Department took in response to the results of the research into non-participation.

Kitty Ussher: The Department set up a project team to respond to the policy and operational issues raised by the report findings. A number of issues were identified, in particular training, childcare and raising the profile of New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) and, as a result, the following steps have been taken to address those issues identified:
	Refresher training and clear desk aids have been provided in the use of the Labour Market System. In addition, clearer guidance concerning the definition of participation in NDLP has been published;
	A range of strategies have been developed to help change the attitudes of parents and advisers to focus on the positive outcomes children gain from formal childcare;
	Key messages have been provided to Jobcentre Plus staff to emphasise the gains to be made by a parent moving into work and the impact on child poverty;
	A lone parent caseload strategy was developed to raise the awareness and understanding of NDLP and encourage advisers to explicitly promote its benefits and invite a greater number of lone parents to participate in the NDLP programme; and
	Jobcentre Plus delivered a series of workshops to lone parent advisers which focused on the key interviewing and influencing techniques that advisers need to assist lone parents engage with NDLP.